It's a real pleasure to be able to access and see "Not of This Earth" in a great transfer DVD after being obscure for such a long time. Kudos to the folks at Shout Factory for bringing one of Roger Corman's best Allied Artists drive in flicks back to sci-fi fans after so long.
NOTE has been a bit of a legend for a long time. Originally released on a drive-in double bill with the seafood classic "Attack of the Crab Monsters", NOTE disappeared from view sometime in the mid-60s after it popped up now and then on local "chiller/shock" late night TV with some local dressed up as Dracula doing the scary movie hosting.
NOTE was a really remarkable effort, running a scant 60 minutes. The Corman regulars are here, hipster Dick Miller, stoic Paul Birch, the lovely scream queen Beverly Garland, a surprisingly hunky Jonathan Haze, and a briefly seen umbrella-creature designed by the legendary Paul Blaisdell. A terse story about an alien sent to Earth to seek out blood. Not a vampire, but close enough. Paul Birch's "Mr. Johnson" is a real piece of work: wooden, unemotional, thirsty, and evidently a ringer sent to Earth by his superiors on the planet Davanna to find subjects that will reinfuse the radioactive blood of the residents. The Davannites have been poisoned by atomic war and need fresh blood. Mr. Johnson sends victims back to his world by means of a teleportation machine he hides in the closet of his mansion. The scenes of interaction between Johnson and his superior are very unsettling. Understated, like everything else in this odd flick.
Paul Birch, the white-eyed alien, is given great support by the other actors, including a brief but chilling appearance by a female alien played by Anne Carrol. The female Davannite falls victim to a transfusion of rabid dog blood. "There is activity inside me" she telepathically tells Johnson. Little time is wasted in this tale of interplanetary hunting, using a sharp script and tight direction by Roger Corman. The last shot in the movie is terrific.
If you love the drive-in classics of the Fabulous Fifties, seek out NOTE and marvel at how well it's done. No cucumber Venusians conquering the world or 50 foot women, just a rarity from Corman: a superior scifi thriller that rose above it's humble origins.
NOTE has been a bit of a legend for a long time. Originally released on a drive-in double bill with the seafood classic "Attack of the Crab Monsters", NOTE disappeared from view sometime in the mid-60s after it popped up now and then on local "chiller/shock" late night TV with some local dressed up as Dracula doing the scary movie hosting.
NOTE was a really remarkable effort, running a scant 60 minutes. The Corman regulars are here, hipster Dick Miller, stoic Paul Birch, the lovely scream queen Beverly Garland, a surprisingly hunky Jonathan Haze, and a briefly seen umbrella-creature designed by the legendary Paul Blaisdell. A terse story about an alien sent to Earth to seek out blood. Not a vampire, but close enough. Paul Birch's "Mr. Johnson" is a real piece of work: wooden, unemotional, thirsty, and evidently a ringer sent to Earth by his superiors on the planet Davanna to find subjects that will reinfuse the radioactive blood of the residents. The Davannites have been poisoned by atomic war and need fresh blood. Mr. Johnson sends victims back to his world by means of a teleportation machine he hides in the closet of his mansion. The scenes of interaction between Johnson and his superior are very unsettling. Understated, like everything else in this odd flick.
Paul Birch, the white-eyed alien, is given great support by the other actors, including a brief but chilling appearance by a female alien played by Anne Carrol. The female Davannite falls victim to a transfusion of rabid dog blood. "There is activity inside me" she telepathically tells Johnson. Little time is wasted in this tale of interplanetary hunting, using a sharp script and tight direction by Roger Corman. The last shot in the movie is terrific.
If you love the drive-in classics of the Fabulous Fifties, seek out NOTE and marvel at how well it's done. No cucumber Venusians conquering the world or 50 foot women, just a rarity from Corman: a superior scifi thriller that rose above it's humble origins.